Brother Ivanushka and sister Alyonushka Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there were two orphans, brother Ivanushka and sister Alyonushka. Alyonushka was older than Ivanushka. They had no means of living, and soon ran out of their little provisions. They had a guardian, but when the money ran out, he drove them out of the house. So they wandered from village to village, and Alyonushka found work as a servant.

They walked and walked, and after a storm, the ground was wet with puddles everywhere. The sun came out and it got hot. Ivanushka said, "Sister Alyonushka, I'll drink from the horse's hoofprint." "Don’t drink, brother, or you will turn into a horse," she replied. They continued on. After a while, Ivanushka said, "Sister Alyonushka, I’m thirsty, I’ll drink from the cow’s hoofprint." Alyonushka replied, "Don’t drink, Ivanushka, or you’ll turn into a cow!" They walked on, but Ivanushka said again, "Sister Alyonushka, I’ll drink from this puddle." "That’s a goat's hoofprint – you'll turn into a goat!" He didn’t ask this time and drank from the puddle: "Meee!" He had turned into a goat!

They kept walking and came to a large estate. Alyonushka hired herself as a maid there. The master of the house, who was unmarried, saw Alyonushka, and being impressed by her beauty, he said, "Let her be my maid."

Not long after, the master began to talk of marrying her. But there was a wealthy foreign guest staying there who also wanted to marry the master. She grew jealous of Alyonushka and hired a rogue to drown her. They made a barrel, put Alyonushka inside it, and threw her into the river at night.

The goat, Ivanushka, begged the master: "Master, let me go to the river to drink water and wash my insides." The master let him go. The goat ran to the river:

"Sister Alyonushka, They are sharpening knives, They want to slaughter me!"

From beneath the water, Alyonushka answered:

"The stone pulls me to the bottom, Seaweed binds my hands, Sorrow drains my heart!"

The goat returned and once again begged the master to let him go to the river. The master followed him this time. The goat ran to the river and shouted again:

"Sister Alyonushka, The cauldrons are boiling, The knives are sharpening, They want to slaughter me!"

The master heard a voice from the water and ordered his men to fish out the barrel. They rescued Alyonushka, revived her in the bathhouse, and brought her home. The master married Alyonushka, and the goat stayed with them.

Their guardian heard about Alyonushka’s marriage and invited them to a feast. He asked for forgiveness, but Alyonushka said:

"You can forgive guardians, but you should never harm orphans!"

And they never saw the guardian again.